Distracted Driving
Our youth have a message. Are you ready to listen?
Alberta introduced a distracted driving law in 2011. We all need to work together to ensure everyone understands what the law means, how it affects the way we drive, and why it is so important.
Cultural change begins with youth. These young drivers used a video camera to show that they understand the significant dangers that come with distractions behind the wheel.
WATCH the videos. TAKE the pledge. DON'T drive distracted.
Would you like more information?
Are you a distracted driver? Do you think you can drive and do other things? Test your driving skills
Did you know?
- 80% of collisions include driver inattention as a contributing factor
(finding from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the U.S.) - People using a cell phone while driving are 4 to 6 times more likely to be in a car crash
(references a number of existing studies, the most well known is Redelmeier, D. A. and Tibsharani, R. J. “Association Between Cellular Telephone Calls and Motor Vehicle Collisions” in New England Journal of Medicine, 336; pp 453-458. 1997.) - People texting while driving are 23 times more likely to be involved in a collision or near collision
(refers to a study conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute. Citation: Olson, R.L., Hanowski, R.J.; Hickman, J.S.; and Bocanegra, J. 2009. Driver distraction in commercial vehicle operations. Report No. FMCSA-RRR-09-242. Washington, DC: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.) - Based on established research, it is estimated that 20-30% of all collisions are due to some form of driver distraction. In AMA’s estimation when these percentages are applied to Alberta’s traffic collisions this would suggest that distraction is associated with approximately 100 deaths and 5,000 injuries from nearly 40,000 collisions each year.
